Syracuse man sentenced in drug-robbery homicide

Syracuse, NY - A Syracuse man was sentenced today to 15 years to life in state prison for murdering the victim in a drug-related robbery.

As he sentenced Courtney Saunders, County Judge Anthony Aloi bemoaned the fact his sentencings in prior cases have apparently done nothing to stop the violence that has plagued the community. Another life has been lost and another man is being sent off to prison because of drugs and guns, the judge noted.

Saunders, 23, of Ballantyne Road, pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder, admitting he caused the death of DuUwezo Ross during the commission of a felony robbery or attempted robbery. Ross, 28, and his stepbrother, Darnell Neal, were in a car in the parking lot of the C-More Market on South Geddes Street for an arranged drug deal when Saunders got in the vehicle and tried to rob them at gunpoint Nov. 26, 2007.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Robert Duncanson said Ross grabbed the barrel of the gun but was unable to wrestle the weapon away from Saunders. As Ross then tried to get out of the car to flee, he was fatally shot in the back, the prosecutor said.

Ross' mother, Wanda Ross, told Aloi in court Tuesday she could forgive Saunders for being born and being senseless but would never forgive him for the "cold-blooded murder" of her son. She held up a framed photograph of her son, telling Saunders she wanted him to see the face of the person he shot in the back.

Although Saunders said nothing in court, defense lawyer Eric Jeschke said the defendant offered a sincere apology in his interview with the probation department for his pre-sentence report.

Aloi said he was trying to get across to the members of the community the simple message: put down the guns, stay away from drugs, take responsibility for your lives, get an education and work hard.

The alternative, he told Saunders, was the state prison sentence he was facing.